Dean’s Welcome
Established in 1984, the Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business is making a name for itself — literally. Ours became the first named college at Iowa State University after Jerry Ivy (’53 industrial administration) and his wife, Debbie (’19 honorary alumna), made their historic gift of $50 million to the college in 2017. As you learn more about us, you will see we are a college on the move.
To best serve our students for their bright futures, we continuously assess and add programs to meet the needs of our students and their future employers. Recent examples include undergraduate majors in healthcare management, human resource management, entrepreneurship, actuarial science, business analytics, and several master’s degrees. We also added a professional sales certificate that is open to all students across campus, regardless of their major. These new programs drive career opportunities for our students.
When you get to know us, you will see that we foster an environment for entrepreneurship, innovation, global learning, and hands-on learning. It’s part of our culture. We offer several programs to fuel the fire for students interested in these areas, including CyBIZ Lab, CYstarters, and the Startup Factory. You can read more about those programs on our Start Something page. We were the first public university in Iowa to offer an undergraduate major and only the eighth in the nation to offer a PhD in entrepreneurship. With these programs, students have a variety of experiential opportunities to choose from.
One thing that has not changed over the years is our attention to our students. Ivy students have a lot of support from faculty and staff, including academic planning with advisors, career and internship planning with professional career coordinators, assistance with presentations and writing from a team of experts in the Writing and Speaking Center, and opportunities to join a learning community or one of many Ivy student organizations. The result of that support can be seen in our Business Career Services annual report where outcomes and average starting salaries are reported.
We have also grown physically. Students today are enjoying the 45,000-square-foot expansion to the Gerdin Business Building, which was opened in the fall of 2020. The four-story addition was designed with students in mind. It includes 40 percent more space, seven team rooms, the Kingland Hub common space, the Houston Professional Sales Suite, 35 faculty office spaces, and five additional classrooms. The first classes were held in the expansion starting January 2021.
I invite you to explore our website and learn more about the reasons why the Ivy College of Business is the best choice to earn a degree in business.
David P. Spalding
Raisbeck Endowed Dean
Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business
Iowa State University